The Tables, and Ships, Are Turning in the Oakland Estuary
Last week, I was delivering my Columbia Challenger Esprit from San Rafael to Oakland, marking just the second time I’d made my way down the Estuary in a sailboat. Near the entrance, we saw that a container ship was turning behind Yerba Buena Island, rather than heading for the ‘parking lot’ of ships in the South Bay. Reaching toward the Estuary’s entrance, we decided to tack and let the ship pass in front of us before we transited the channel.
We fired up the outboard as we slipped into the Estuary and motorsailed down the channel, keeping pace with the big ship, named the President Truman. This was a near-identical scenario to the last time my friend and I had sailed this stretch of water. In spring 2017, at the conclusion of that year’s Master Mariners Regatta, we were pacing another ship down the Estuary, and wondered why it had missed the port and was apparently heading for Alameda — and maybe the after party at Encinal Yacht Club.
Suddenly — in both 2017 and 2020 — the ships stopped, then began a slow, clockwise turn.
In both instances, it was a tad unnerving to see a ship spinning in front of our tiny sailboats, but there’s obviously a plan, and a proper ‘basin’ where all this takes place, so that other boats have room to pass. With that said, it still all feels uncomfortably close to the un- or under-initiated. In addition, one must sail through the tugboat’s wash . . .
Anyway, got any Estuary stories? Please comment below, or write us here.
yep, the Turnaround Basin. Amazing coordination from all vessels involved, but I’ve never been that close!
This is the recognized turning basin for large ships. Under Rule 9 you must give way to these vessels.
Always stay away from active vessels operations, and especially ship turning basins where the wash can create a swirl that can suck you into the side of a ship. You’re lucky nothing bad occurred, such as your outboard deciding to take the afternoon off, as they sometimes do. PS – ships have right of way as they have limited maneuverability.
Since our boat lives in Alameda, we have seen this several times, including when we have stopped (well clear) and watched the whole turn-around process. Always very well choreographed between the big ship and the two to four tugs helping her.
I was privileged to hear a talk by a SF Bay Bar Pilot (the guys who bring the ships in). The Turning Basin is 1400 ft long and some of the ships they turn in it are over 1200 ft long! If you do the math, ONE knot of speed is 100 feet per minute. Not much margin to turn one of these ships in the Turning Basin! The Pilot also told us that you sometimes see tugboats holding the ships back (!). They need the prop-wash to push water past their rudder, but don’t want to go tearing up the Estuary at five or six knots. I left the talk with a profound respect for the Pilots who bring ships into the Bay and safely dock them.